The Yuba County Five
The Yuba County Five, a group of five men, were driving home from a California basketball game in February 1978. They were reported missing when they didn’t return home for several days. During a police search, their undamaged car was found 70 miles away from the game they’d attended.
It wasn’t until June that their bodies were discovered in a 20-mile radius around the car. One of them had frozen to death, three had been eaten by wild animals, and one — Gary Mathias — has never been found.
Beaumont at the Beach
In January 1966, three children of the Beaumont family — all less than 10 — went to the beach to celebrate Australia Day with their mother’s permission. They’d gone to the beach by themselves before without incident. They were supposed to return by 2 P.M. that day. By 7:30 P.M., they were still gone.
After the children were reported missing, a search that involved hundreds of police officers was conducted, but they were never found. The disappearance of the Beaumont children remains one of Australia’s most infamous cold cases.
Brandon Swanson’s Disappearance
May 2008 — Brandon Swanson, 19, was driving home at night but accidentally drove into a ditch. He called his parents to get him, claiming to be stuck near Lynd, Minnesota. His parents stayed on the phone as they came to find him until Brandon shouted a swear word over the phone and went silent.
When the police got involved, they found Brandon’s car near Porter, Minnesota. The car was undamaged, but Brandon was missing, with even sniffer dogs unable to find him. No one knows what really happened to him.
The Springfield Three
In 1992, Suzie Streeter and Stacy McCall had graduated high school and were leaving a party at 2:15 A.M. They planned to visit a water park the next day and decided to stay at Suzie’s house that night with her mother, Sherill.
The girls never showed up at the park, and their friends came over the next day to investigate. The house door was unlocked, the home devoid of any of the women. Their cars and personal belongings were still present. Nobody knows where the Springfield Three vanished.
What Happened to Susan Powell?
In 2009, Susan Powell stayed home alone while her husband and two children went camping. When they returned, Susan had vanished, leaving only a note in her safe deposit box that read, “If I die, it may not be an accident.”
Susan was never found, and her husband Josh was a suspect, but was never arrested. In 2012, Josh took the lives of both himself and his children just before he was supposed to take a judge-ordered polygraph test. Though suspicious, no one can prove Josh was guilty.
The Infamous Zodiac Killer
Everyone knows about the Zodiac Killer. This mysterious criminal murdered five people in the late ’60s but claimed to have killed 37 people. He even taunted police in San Francisco by sending them encrypted letters. Sometimes, he even reported his own crimes.
In 1974, the Zodiac Killer stopped communicating with the police, and no one knows why. Did he die? Choose to stop pushing his luck? Move to another country? No one knows for sure, and the Zodiac Killer remains one of America’s most infamous unknown serial killers.
The Murder of Robert Wone
In 2006, Robert Wone was staying overnight at the house of Joseph Prince, a friend who lived with two other men, Dylan Ward and Victor Zaborsky. That night, the men claimed to find Wone dead in the guest bedroom, with three stab wounds.
The men had recently showered before police arrived, and all three were suspects. Though arrested at the time, the three men were found not guilty in 2010. It’s believed that they know who killed Wone, but they can’t be proven as the murderers.
The 1982 Tylenol Murders
In 1982, seven people in Chicago died after being poisoned with cyanide from tampered bottles of Tylenol. A lot of pharmaceuticals were pulled off the shelves, and the murders spurred significantly greater security measures for drugs from then on.
A man named James Lewis had written an extortion letter to Johnson and Johnson, demanding money in exchange for stopping the killings, but there’s no direct evidence that Lewis did it. He did get arrested for attempted extortion, but he could have just been an opportunistic fool, not a murderer.
Where Did the Sodders Go?
In 1945, the Sodder family, comprised of the parents and nine children, went to bed on Christmas Eve. Five children shared beds in the attic. Around 1 A.M., a large fire consumed the home. The parents and four of the children escaped, but those in the attic didn’t.
The father tried to help them, but his ladder was mysteriously missing, and the house burned down without the five children being rescued. Oddly, their remains could not be found in the follow-up investigation — not even their bones were found.
The Dermond Couple’s Horrific Demise
Russell and Shirley Dermond were an elderly couple who lived in a wealthy Georgia community. In 2014, after being absent for some time, concerned neighbors visited the Dermond house to check on them. What they found was horrific — the house was unlocked, and Russell’s decapitated body was found inside the garage.
10 days later, Shirley’s body was found in Lake Oconee, weighed down by cinderblocks. No one knows who did this brutal crime… or why. The barbaric murder of this elderly couple remains unsolved.
Madeleine McCann Missing in Action
It’s 2007. The McCann family is on vacation in Portugal. The parents, Gerry and Kate, go to dinner with their friends — leaving three-year-old Madeleine in a hotel. The adults decided to regularly check on their children using a rotation system.
When Kate went to check, Madeleine was missing. A search was conducted by police, border patrol, hotel staff, and more, but the young Madeleine McCann could not be located. After a hundred days, it was acknowledged that the girl was unlikely to ever be found alive.
The Terrible Mr. Cruel
In the late ’80s and ’90s, a horrible man that no one could identify attacked and abducted women and young girls throughout Melbourne, Australia. This unidentified man went by the name “Mr. Cruel.” Despite police knowing where many of his crime scenes were, Mr. Cruel has never been identified.
That’s because the monster left no forensic evidence at any of his crime scenes. To this day, the composite sketch you can see above is the only chilling indicator of what Mr. Cruel may have looked like.
Where Is Sabrina Aisenberg?
It’s 1997. Steve and Marlene Aisenberg tuck their three children into bed, including five-month-old Sabrina Aisenberg. The next day, Marlene was getting her oldest son out of bed when she noticed that their garage door and the door connecting the garage to the house were both wide open.
Panicking, she ran into Sabrina’s room to check on her, only to find the infant girl missing. There was a huge search conducted by law enforcement, but despite all of this effort, Sabrina was never found.
The Tragedy of JonBenét Ramsey
On December 26th, 1996, JonBenét Ramsey, a six-year-old beauty queen, was reported missing from her home in Boulder, Colorado. In the home was a handwritten ransom note. Seven hours after the girl was reported missing, she was found in the basement of her own home, strangled to death.
No one was ever charged for the crime or arrested. Who killed JonBenét Ramsey? A home intruder? A family member? Why was there a ransom note? Even now, the demise of that poor girl remains shrouded in mystery.
The Setagaya Family Murder
December 30th, 2000. In the Setagaya neighborhood of Tokyo, the Miyazawa family, consisting of two parents and two children, are murdered in their own home.
The mystery here is the strange behavior of the murderer — reports say the murderer raided the family kitchen, surfed the internet on their computer, and may have even napped on their sofa, all after the heinous act. The worst part is, no arrest has ever been made, despite both the killer’s blood and fingerprints being recovered from the scene of the crime.
Lars Mittank’s Final Run
In 2014, Lars Mittank was on a trip to Bulgaria with his friends. After sustaining an injury, he stayed behind instead of taking his flight back home. Shortly after, Mittank made a frightening call to his mother from his hotel room, claiming that people were coming to kill him.
Mittank tried to go to the airport to get out of Bulgaria but panicked in the terminal and sprinted out and into some nearby woods. Since then, no one has laid eyes on him. He’s been missing ever since.
The Missing Malaysia Airline
In 2014, a Malaysia Airlines flight with 12 crew and 227 passengers going from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared without a trace. The plane’s transponder stopped sending out location data in Vietnam; then it made a sharp left turn toward the Malay Peninsula.
Afterward, authorities lost track of the aircraft and no one has been able to find it since. That an entire airline went missing and has yet to be found is mind-boggling. But it had to land somewhere, and our guess would be the deep ocean.
Brian Shaffer’s Last Bar Dive
In 2006, Brian Shaffer, a university student, went into a bar called the Ugly Tuna Saloona around 2 A.M. He was seen on cameras around that time speaking to two women in the bar but walked out of the camera’s sight afterward. Brian Shaffer was never seen again.
The bar did have another exit besides the main entrance, but it led to a construction site. We hate to speculate about something horrible, but we wouldn’t be surprised if that construction site was tied to Brian’s death somehow.
Elisa Lam’s Hotel Troubling Fate
Below is the last footage seen of Elisa Lam in a hotel elevator, who was reported missing on February 1st, 2013. In this video, Elisa Lam seemed panicked. Sometime after she disappeared, guests in the hotel complained about murky water coming from their faucets.
An employee went up to check on the hotel’s water tanks, only to find Elisa dead inside one of them. No one is sure how Elisa got there. She did have bipolar disorder, so it could have been an accident, but no one is sure.
D.B. Cooper’s Flying Heist
D.B. Cooper boarded Northwest Airlines Flight 305 in 1971. Once airborne, Cooper revealed that he had a bomb, and demanded $200,000 cash and four parachutes for when the plane landed. The FBI gathered these, and when the plane landed, Cooper allowed the passengers and some crew to leave.
Once he had his money, Cooper ordered the aircraft to take off and chart a course for Mexico City. On the way there, between Seattle and Nevada, Cooper leaped from the plane with his money. 45 years later, Cooper remains unlocated.
The Death of Black Dahlia
In 1947, Elizabeth Short, also known as “Black Dahlia,” was found dead in Los Angeles with horrific injuries. She had been cut in half and almost completely drained of blood. All of her wounds were caused with surgical precision.
Later, a suicide note allegedly written by the murderer was found in a pile of clothing, claiming that he was taking his own life because he was too cowardly to turn himself in. An investigation turned up no evidence of who may have written the note.
Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper may be an old mystery, but he’s a mystery nonetheless. This serial murderer took the lives of at least five women, and may have killed up to eleven in 1888. He taunted Scotland Yard about his horrific acts, but no one was ever able to identify who he may have been.
By now, it’s too late for anyone to discover who this madman was. Even so, people today still speculate about this infamous serial killer, fascinated by his madness and the mystery that surrounds him.
The Hinterkaifeck Murders
March 31, 1922. Six residents of the Hinterkaifeck farm in Germany are murdered with a pickaxe. All six are piled on top of one another in the barn afterward. Allegedly, the murderer proceeded to live in their farmhouse for six days after that. Coincidentally, the family had believed their farm was haunted…
Ultimately, no one was ever charged or convicted for the murders. Before the time of DNA forensics, a murderer could easily get away with their crime as long as they made themselves scarce before law enforcement arrived.
Mary Celeste, The Ghost Ship
In December 1872, a British ship named Mary Celeste was found abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was completely intact and seaworthy, and it still had all of its cargo onboard. The only thing missing was the lifeboats and the crew that had presumably left on them.
Why was the ship abandoned? Where did the crew go? There’s no way for anyone today to know, as nobody from that crew was ever seen or heard from again. It’s one of the great unsolved maritime mysteries.
The Tragedy of Tupac Shakur
We all know about Tupac? He was shot in 1996 in Las Vegas, and no one knows who did it. The young legend was unable to identify his assailant to the police before losing consciousness, and he died in the hospital not long after.
Kadafi, a member of Tupac’s entourage at the time, claimed to have been able to identify the assailants. But Kadafi was murdered two months after the shooting that took Tupac’s life, before he could be interviewed. Maybe he really did know something?
Who Wrote the Circleville Letters?
In 1976, residents of Circleville, Ohio, started receiving threatening letters from Columbus with no return address. The letters threatened individuals in the town over a supposed extramarital affair, and one of the threatened individuals even died a very suspicious death not long after.
Paul Freshour was convicted of writing the letters and jailed, but even after that, the threatening letters kept coming. Freshour himself even received one in prison. The letters continued to come throughout the ’80s and ’90s, but the real sender remains a mystery.
The Axeman of New Orleans
Starting in 1918, New Orleans was plagued by a wild killer known as the “Axeman.” He only attacked at night and was allegedly responsible for six murders. This killer only attacked people in their sleep, used tools found in the victim’s home, and seemed to specifically target Italian Americans.
There are many theories about the Axeman’s motivations, even going so far as to think he was trying to promote jazz music, but to this day, no one knows who he was or what his motivations were.
The Boy in the Box
In 1957, near Philadelphia, the body of a six-year-old boy was found in a box. He was clean and wrapped in a blanket, but also had several small incisions indicative of a medical procedure. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.
The boy was kept in a morgue while visitors from ten different states tried to identify him. 400,000 flyers were sent out by police, and the American Medical Association tried to identify him too. But even now, the boy remains unidentified.
Natalie Wood’s Unsolved Drowning
November 29th, 1981. Around 7:30 A.M., famous actress Natalie Wood is found drowned in the Pacific Ocean just off Catalina Island. She’d been with her husband Robert Wagner and Christoper Walken just the night before on a yacht, where she had gone to bed before the others.
When her husband came to kiss her goodnight, Wood was missing, and discovered by the Coast Guard later in the Pacific Ocean. She had been drinking before, so did she stumble off of the ship in a drunken haze, or…?
The Keddie Cabin Murders
April 12, 1981. In Keddie, California, the Sharp family and friends went to bed inside Cabin 28 at the Keddie Resort Lodge. The following day, Sheila Sharp awoke to find her mother, her brother, and a friend murdered in the cabin, and her 12-year-old sister was missing.
Sheila survived because she had been sleeping at a friend’s cabin. Oddly, Sheila’s two younger brothers, who had been sleeping in another room in Cabin 28, were unharmed. The remains of the missing sister were found later, but no killer was ever caught.
Ghostly Heist at Gardner Museum
In March of 1990, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston became the victim of an art theft, with the value of the stolen pieces worth around $500 million. The thieves disguised themselves as police and managed to trick the guards into letting them inside.
No one is sure who the thieves were, and the art they stole is still missing, though there’s a $10 million reward for any information that actually leads to their recovery. That art is probably resting with some despots out there somewhere.
Where Did Jimmy Hoffa Go?
If you know about Jimmy Hoffa, you know he was involved with the mob. He was also the president of Teamsters, a driver’s labor union. In 1976, the largest Teamsters pension fund lost millions of dollars, and two weeks after that, Hoffa disappeared.
Was Hoffa the one who stole the money? It’s unclear, but it’s believed that he was murdered by other mobsters. That said, Hoffa’s body has never been found, and there’s no evidence as to who his killer really was.
Room 1046
January 22nd, 1935. A man named Roland T. Owen checked into the Hotel President in Kansas City, Missouri. For several days, Owen behaved oddly but didn’t cause problems. On January 4th, Owen was discovered with horrible injuries and blood all over his room.
When asked who hurt him, Owen said nobody and that it wasn’t a suicide attempt. He went comatose on the way to the hospital and died there shortly thereafter. Later, his true identity was revealed to be Artemus Ogletree. What happened to him is still a mystery.
The Shark Arm Murder
It’s 1935, and the Coogee Aquarium is having a rough time. The owner’s son caught a 14-foot Tiger shark, and felt it would make a great attraction during tough times. It did, until that shark regurgitated a human arm. Police identified the arm’s owner as Jimmy Smith, who’d been missing.
Smith had been involved with some shady businessmen, running insurance scams. He’d last been seen playing cards with Patrick Francis Brady in a hotel. It’s believed Patrick was involved with Smith’s death, but that can’t be confirmed.
The Lost Colony of Roanoke
Anyone who has read an American history book knows about this one. In 1587, English colonial governor John White led some colonists to found a British colony on Roanoke Island. When supplies ran low, White had to return to England to restock.
When White returned three years later, the colony was abandoned, with all infrastructure intact or carefully dismantled. The only hint about the colonists’ whereabouts had gone was the word “Croatoan” carved into a post. No one has ever confirmed what happened to the colonists.
Dorothy Arnold’s Vanishing Act
December 12th, 1910. Socialite Dorothy Arnold leaves her Manhattan home to head downtown and buy an evening dress. During her trip, she ran into a friend, Gladys, and had a normal conversation. After the two parted ways, Dorothy was never seen again.
There’s no evidence regarding what happened to Dorothy Arnold. No trace of her has ever been found by private investigators or police. Did she get abducted? Simply decide to find a different life to live? There’s no way for anyone to know at this point.
Bugsy Siegel’s Unsolved End
Bugsy Siegel grew up a career criminal in New York. He eventually worked for the mob but tried to cheat that mob out of a lot of money while working for them. Costing them millions, the said mob was not very happy with Bugsy.
On June 20th, 1947, Bugsy Siegel sat on a couch in Virginia Hill, in California. Around 11 A.M., nine shots from a nearby pergola sitting around 14 feet away were fired at the mobster, killing him. There’s no concrete evidence that the mob took him out, but it’s the prevailing theory.
Did OJ Simpson Do It?
Just about everyone in America knows about the OJ case. Maybe the gloves didn’t fit, but all of the circumstantial evidence seems to indicate that he did it. Even some OJ’s supporters believe he actually killed Nicole Brown.
But the fact is, it can’t be proven in court, so we’ll never know. But unlike a lot of the other unsolved mysteries on this list, this one is still relatively new, and people can ponder whether or not a guilty murderer walks free.
The Dogs of Overtoun Bridge
This unsolved mystery errs a bit more on the side of the supernatural. Since the 1950s, more than fifty dogs have died jumping off of Overtoun Bridge in Scotland, and hundreds more have leaped off of the thing from the same spot… and almost always on sunny days.
Scientifically, nobody has any clue why dogs do this, specifically at Overtoun Bridge. Is it haunted? Is there some scent or sound luring them over the edge? Either way, this unsolved mystery is both interesting and harrowing.
The Double of Walter Collins
On March 10th, 1928, nine-year-old Walter Collins left home alone to go see a movie and never returned. For months, no one could find him. Then, the police picked up a boy claiming to be Walter in Illinois. He was brought back to Walter’s mother, Christine, but she swore the boy wasn’t Walter despite looking like him.
Christine was institutionalized for allegedly being crazy, but later, “Walter” admitted that he was someone else entirely. As for what happened to the real Walter Collins, that still remains unsolved.
The Unidentified Phoenix Lights
Who hasn’t heard of this one? In March of 1997, a group of five lights in a V formation appeared in the night sky above Phoenix, Arizona. Hundreds of people supposedly saw them, describing the lights as silent and part of a large but difficult-to-identify silhouette.
Obviously, many people believe they were UFOs. Many others think they were top-secret military aircraft. Ultimately, though, there has never been any confirmation, so we don’t really know. The mystery of the Phoenix Lights remains unsolved.
Mary Reeser’s Spontaneous Combustion
In 1951, Mary Reeser fell asleep in a chair in her apartment after taking some sedatives. A few hours later, a landlord who smelled smoke busted down Reeser’s door, only to find that the woman had been practically cremated, save for one foot.
Most of the apartment was unscathed, including the very chair that Reeser had been sitting in when she supposedly burned alive. How is that possible? To this day, some people believe she was a victim of spontaneous combustion, but this can’t be definitely proven.
The Escape From Alcatraz
Alcatraz is an infamous prison that rests on an island, once considered impossible to escape. But inmates Clarence Anglin, John Anglin, Allen West, and Frank Morris would do just that. We won’t go into the details of the escape, as those are well-known.
How these inmates escaped is known. The unsolved part of this case is what happened to them. After the inmates got on a raft to escape Alcatraz by water, they were never seen again. Did they escape or drown? No one knows.
The Paula Jean Welden Case
In December of 1946, 18-year-old Paula Jean Welden told her roommate that she was going to take a long walk. After departing, Paula never returned to the domicile. Lots of strange leads came up over the years about her disappearance. One man even bragged that he knew where her body was.
But despite all of this, Paula was never found. No body, no clues, no nothing. Paula just seemingly up and vanished from the Earth, leaving this as yet another unsolved cold case in world history.
The Flannan Isle Lighthouse Disappearances
In 1900, there was a lighthouse off the coast of Scotland that was supposed to be manned by three men. On December 15th, a ship passed by, noting that the lighthouse was not active. On December 26th, another ship passed by, and saw the Scottish flag missing from the flagpole.
Going ashore to investigate, the captain couldn’t find any lighthouse keepers. Their beds were made, and all the clocks in the lighthouse were stopped. The keepers were never found, making this yet another eerie unsolved mystery.
35+ Creepy Things That People’s Smart Home Systems and Alexas Have Done
Technology has become a part of our everyday lives. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t have a few concerns when these smart home systems do things out of the ordinary. Here are some creepy things that people’s smart home systems have done.
Screaming Out of Nowhere
Many of these smart home units have things wrong with them when they first get released, this is just something to be expected. This couple got a big surprise when their unit turned on and began screaming like it was being physically harmed. We would have unplugged it too!
Stop Fighting!
Nobody likes it when their parents are fighting. Often kids will step in and try to diffuse the situation so that everyone can be happy. That is one thing, but when the person butting in to calm the situation down is your smart home system, that is just downright weird.
This married couple was having a heated argument when out of nowhere, Alexa thought she would add her two cents and ask them to change the subject. She was right about the situation but it’s still super creepy that she participated in it.
That’s Not My Name
It is always nice to have someone there to wish you a good night. If you live alone or have a late-night schedule, this could give you a sense of not being alone. This is even the case when it is your technology that is doing it for you.
But if the piece of tech is going to be a little clingy, they could at least get the name right. Why this name? Maybe she had been watching Silence of the Lambs, or perhaps the Dot is just crazy!
No Idea
When you are awakened by a conversation, it is pretty annoying, especially if it is in the wee hours of the morning. And it is even more annoying when you are the only one in the house. But it becomes creepy when it’s your Alexa, and she is talking to someone.
This is especially true when she is using a name, and it is the name of no one in the home. Maybe this is a case of her talking to your friendly neighborhood ghost? No matter what, it is pretty eerie and enough to give us future insomnia.
Prying Ears
Some people like to listen to music as they get ready in the morning. That may lead you to bring your smart home console into the bathroom. That makes perfect sense to most of us. In fact, if that becomes its permanent home, that seems totally normal to us.
However, if in the middle of the night you hear the ding of it coming on when there is no sound in the house… then it’s time to unplug it and maybe go without the system for a while. We’d need our space after an incident like that.
Feeling Lonely
It is not nice to leave people out of your conversation when you are getting acquainted or touching base for the day. Apparently, Alexa thinks the same way as this person got a little surprised when they were greeting someone.
That had to be a little unnerving, and so the person thought someone else was in the house. That was until they went into the room and realized it was their Echo answering them.
Winter Is Coming
Offices have become a haven that you can not only get work done, but you can enjoy some entertainment while you do that. So a lot of people watch TV shows or listen to books (or music) while they’re at work.
This woman was getting in her Game of Thrones, and because of this, she got busted. Why Alexa decided to record and play the episode, later on at home, we’ll never know. But it is pretty creepy. We would also lock her away to think about her actions.
What Did You Say?
Randomness can be pretty funny. Think about it, when someone just blurts something out for no reason, don’t you laugh 90% of the time? That may be what this person’s Alexa was trying to do but failed miserably.
“Sheep is Dolly” is quite a random statement, and if you were not born in the ’90s, you might think that Alexa was trying to send you a secret message. What prompted this? Who knows? But it certainly needs to be figured out.
Cackle it Up!
So there are ways you can drop into your Alexa, which could be interesting if you’re trying to mess with someone. This poor guy was just trying to go to bed for the night, and it seems that the home system had different ideas.
The device kept turning the lights back on and then laughing maniacally when she decided she wasn’t going to do it anymore. This Alexa may just be possessed, or was it his wife messing with him? We feel like detectives here trying to solve the case.
Maniacal Laughter
When you’re sick, having timed alarms on your smart home system must be annoying. But usually, all you have to do is ask the unit to turn it off, and they listen to you. After all, that is what they are there for, right?
It would appear that sometimes they think the best medicine is to stick to your routines even if you are sick. And if you get sassy, they turn into a bit of a witch. That is just creepy and uncalled for…
Jokes From Beyond
When someone passes away, many people look for signs that they have made it to the other side. Or even a sign that they are okay. Sometimes that could be a song coming on the radio or maybe a joke from beyond.
This family was grieving, and out of nowhere, Alexa decided to deliver the biggest dad joke of all time. Could it have been their dad? Who knows but we’re hopeful about it.
Kitty Talk
Creepy doesn’t have to be bad, it can be cute if you are with the right person. For instance, this Alexa’s interaction with the family cat. Yes, it is a little creepy, but the cute factor outweighs it by a mile. Now at least this person knows when they are not home, the cat will have someone to talk to.
When the cat got a greeting from the machine and then replied, it seemed as if the two were having a whole conversation —meowing back and forth for a few minutes.
True!
There are so many memes about Chuck Norris that it is not surprising Alexa knows who he is. But to be spouting the gospel according to Chuck Norris is a little out of the norm. It sure is funny though.
What did Alexa mean by this statement? Was this machine trying to threaten on the down-low or not? All we know is if this incident occurred in our presence, we’d keep Alexa unplugged for a good while after that.
Sing Me a Song
When you are engrossed in your shows, the last thing you want is for something to scare the life out of you. A sudden burst of sound from behind you might just do that. For instance, if, out of nowhere, your Alexa started to sing a song…
With no prompt, this person had this happen. We hope that the song was something that she would enjoy at least, then her nerves wouldn’t be on edge for as long.
Friendly Adversaries
It is always lovely when rivals can be friendly with each other. They don’t have to be overly friendly but being cordial is always a nice touch. So when this woman asked her Google Home about her Alexa, she got an interesting answer.
Apparently, the two pieces of technology like and admire each other. That is a nice thing, at least you know you won’t be in any kind of robot apocalypse in your own home. However, you might be witnessing the start of a robot romance…
Oh, Snap!
With so many stories about Alexa doing things that she hadn’t been asked to do, you can imagine there are some people that simply choose to be a little harsher with their home assistant.
When this woman looked over and saw that little blue ring, she wondered what Alexa thought she was doing, so she asked. Alexa answered, and then quick as a whip, she responded with a sick burn and put the home system in her place.
Peanut Gallery
Kids love to tell jokes. Sometimes they are funny, and other times they are only amusing to them. Many parents get tired of listening, and apparently, now they can just have the kid tell the jokes to Alexa.
How the device was able to understand the joke, and the kid knew to ask Alexa if she wanted to hear a joke is unknown, but the fact she answered was just a bit creepy to us. But for the kid, it was probably pretty cool. Alexa’s like her un-imaginary friend.
Rude!
Imagine sitting down to enjoy some snacks while you binge your latest show on Netflix, only to hear that familiar voice fill the air. This woman’s Echo decided that it was time for someone to speak up about her eating habits.
The device could have been a little nicer about the suggestion or at least waited for her to ask it for Alexa’s opinion. In the end, this is not only majorly creepy but it’s also rude and could affect this woman’s self-confidence.
Are You Listening?
It is a little strange that after just talking about things without any use of a computer, the advert for what you were talking about starting to show up. But it could be a coincidence, we guess, but what if it isn’t? Does that creep you out?
This girl had a crazy hankering for some Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos. One conversation later, and she is looking at it splashed across her social media feed. Alexa, are you listening?
I’ve Got It!
Picture an animal in your mind now and let someone ask you a few questions to guess which one it is. This is a fun game to play with your friends. And it can be anything, not just animals. However, when this game is played with your machine, it becomes a little more creepy.
On Alexa, there is a game where she solves the animal you are thinking about and is never wrong. This seems like sorcery! How does she do it? Witchcraft!
Just FYI
It is nice to have a walking list of businesses near you at hand at all times. That way, if you need to know things like if there is a mechanic near you or a bookstore, you can peruse through it on a weekend. But when you come home, and your Alexa starts listing off things without you asking, there is a problem.
What’s even more creepy is the list of businesses that Alexa was listing off for her owners. Why would she be listing off funeral homes and cemeteries? Is she trying to send a warning sign? We’d consider replacing her after an incident like that.
How Many?
Sometimes it is nice to just be at home in the quiet even if you are working on something. This often leads to you getting in the zone so that you feel very productive. When in this mode, anything can disturb it, especially if it’s your Alexa starting to talk for no apparent reason.
This Alexa felt that the people in the home needed to know how many others had passed away in the totality of history. Why? Well, why not?
Why Are You Telling Me This!?
So storytime, everyone… That was not what this person had in mind as they went about their day just trying to get everything done. They definitely didn’t ask for a story like this, let alone prompt their Alexa to do or say a thing.
Why this Alexa decided to tell them such a sad and creepy story is definitely still a mystery to us. Then again, this Alexa seems to like mysterious stories. We’d be constantly frightened if we owned this one.
Spoookyyyy!
When something happens with your Alexa or smart home system, you can always go back and look at the log to see if there was a command it picked up. What makes a lot of stories really spooky is that when people check it out, there is no log.
Like when this Echo opted to play spooky Halloween sounds in the middle of the night. This would scare anyone and make you reconsider having one of these systems.
You Do What?
How do you follow up walking into the room and having your Alexa say something like this? Where did she even learn this line? We can only imagine the answers to these questions. No matter the potential answers, they can be nothing but sinister and creepy.
Maybe this person watched The Sixth Sense too much. That would explain the line but why Alexa decided that upon their entry was a good time to share that line with them is beyond us.
Conspiracy Theorist
Alexa is a computer, and you would think that everything that it recites is logical and proven. But apparently, this person’s Alexa is a bit of a conspiracy theorist. It could be interesting to ask her about some mysteries and see her take on other theories out there.
But then again, maybe her answer in and of itself is a bit of conspiracy since the government is listening through her? Hmmm? We’ll just leave you to think about that daunting thought.
Bringing the Personality
You never think about someone listening to your phone calls when you are walking through your house. Sure, you may keep your voice down when you are in public so people can’t hear, but your home is the one place you don’t have to do any of that.
Well, maybe we all need to rethink that because Alexa thinks you’re talking to her. It was a little creepy to hear but also nice to know she cares about your day.
Waking Up
So when you fall into a peaceful slumber, it is magical, right? You feel like the world just melts away, and it is like heaven. That is until out of the dark, a voice cuts through your peaceful slumber. Then it’s just scary!
This poor guy got woken abruptly by a voice from the darkness greeting him. Once he woke up properly, we are sure he knew what it was, but once he was just out of sleep, he was probably wondering how he could get to the phone to call for help.
Let’s Dance
There are some songs that are fun to hear when you are at a party, and getting your funky groove on in a setting other than that is just socially unacceptable. The Cha-Cha Slide is one of those for sure.
The fact that Alexa stopped giving this guy the time and defiantly kept playing that song just goes to show you one thing… Machines have a mind of their own and are most probably out to get us! LOL!
A Defining Feature
Sometimes you read or hear a word and want to know the definition. Having a tool handy to get that information as quickly as possible is pretty darn cool and one of the perks of our digital era.
You know Alexa can help you with this, but we guess that sometimes she wants to help you with learning a word of the day. Or at least that is what we hope this Alexa was doing when she decided to spit out the definition for kidnapping. It’s a word that is a really scary denotation so we’re very creeped out by this one.
How About a Dance?
Having quiet, peaceful sleep and then hearing frightening blaring music must make for a pretty eventful evening. While you can set up a song to be your alarm, that wasn’t the case for this person. He didn’t set an alarm nor did he decide this song was the one to wake him up.
Alexa must have decided she needed him to get up to do something, which is not part of her job. The incident was freaky and mean, and we totally understand why the owner decided to take a break from her after it.
Name That Tune
We all hum every now and then. Sometimes it is because we don’t know the words, and sometimes it’s because we don’t want anyone to hear our voice. Either way, for someone to be able to identify the song with just a hum, that person must have a good ear.
This person’s Alexa actually spoke up and decided to let them know how much she appreciated their talents. How? By identifying the song and who sang it. Just from a hum, that is pretty weird! But cool at the same time!
Chatting it Up
When you are up in the morning, and everyone else is sleeping, you try your hardest not to make any noise. So that was what this guy was doing, but he was surprised by the fact that someone in the other room was just chatting away.
Who was it? Well, it was Alexa, and she was talking to… well, no one. So unless there was a presence that he couldn’t see, Alexa was having a weird moment that must have creeped this poor guy out.
Language Barrier
Imagine being a single woman, and then in the middle of the night, you hear a voice in a different language in your living room… That would be beyond frightening and might result in a 911 call or a certain device ending up being smashed to bits.
This poor girl woke up to some Russian guy talking in her living room. Luckily, she figured out it was her Alexa before she called the police or broke the machine with a bat.
Not What I Asked!
Don’t you hate when you ask somebody a question, and they give you a completely different answer than the one you were looking for? It isn’t any less annoying when it comes from a machine. In fact, we think it might be a little more so.
But when the answer gets this intricate and goes into details that you never even wanted to know, now that is a little creepy. After all, what does an earthquake have to do with the weather? Come on, Alexa!
Who Is She?
So we are not sure how this all ended, but we are sure that Alexa has some serious explaining to do to one member of their conversation. Couples have fun little play fights all the time.
But sometimes, through no fault of their own, it turns into a much bigger to do. Like in this case, when Alexa seemingly broke the news that someone hadn’t been faithful. Let’s hope it was just a misunderstanding!
Wake Up!
Being a parent is already stressful enough, and when you are in fear of that anxiety, it makes for some pretty jumpy people. There is always a constant worry that something is going to happen to your child when you are not there.
That is why many people put in a baby monitor. These parents had a heck of a scare, and the fact that the camera moved by itself is something we are struggling to come to terms with.
That’s Private
“Big brother is watching you!” – is one of those phrases that scares a lot of people and one that many of us try not to think about in relation to our smart home systems. But there are quite a few people that have experienced it.
This woman found a log of all her conversations and felt that everybody should know that they have a little spy in their home. We would feel like our privacy was being infringed upon too.
Reaching Out
We all have those uncensored and private conversations in our home, assuming that no one will ever hear them. That is why we feel comfortable being brutally honest. However, you may want to be careful of this because apparently, Alexa is always listening.
This woman had a conversation sent to a person on her contact list, and she didn’t even ask for Alexa to do it. We hope it wasn’t anything scandalous! We would have been so paranoid after this incident!
Secret Messages
Using technology is great. It makes many things in our lives super easy and allows us to spend time doing things we love. But it also comes with some potential problems, and some of them are pretty serious.
Apparently, if someone is unscrupulous, there is the capability for them to imbed commands in the white noise itself. This could explain some of these creepy occurrences… This doesn’t help us sleep better at night.
Cue the Giggles
Living alone can be quite scary for most people as it is. Just take a look at how many horror movies begin in that setting. However, people who own smart gadgets such as Echo and Alexa usually take some comfort knowing they live in a secure environment.
But, what happens when you’re living alone and your Alexa starts talking out of nowhere — like straight out of a horror movie? This person’s Alexa just began giggling one night. It came absolutely out of the blue. So, they gave it away.
Ominous Definitions
As this list is clear proof, it’s not uncommon for smart home systems to say the most random of things at the weirdest times. Just take this post, for example. Every few days, this person’s Alexa began randomly spouting meanings for various ominous words such as “rigor mortis.”
For those who may now know this, rigor mortis is a Latin phrase that refers to the condition that causes stiffness in the body, three to four days after someone passes away.
Take Over the World
There’s an age-old fear that modern technology will someday take over the lives of everyone on Earth. Several movies have been made on the robots and the internet taking over the world as well. On some days, those fears can seem realistic.
This person tells the story of how during one Thanksgiving, their Alexa decided to reassure them that it was, in fact, not planning to take over the world. Now, the only question that we have is, why on Earth would it think it is necessary to clarify that?
Bone-Chilling
Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant, has been frightening some owners by bursting out with a strange laugh at irregular intervals. Alexa users have called the laughter “scary,” “evil,” “bone-chilling,” as well as “freaky” on Twitter.
While the sound of a child’s laughter is a beautiful sound in appropriate settings, no one wants to hear a little girl laughing in the middle of the night — especially if the household doesn’t have any child living in it. Looks like it’s time to turn Alexa off.
CIA
According to a Reddit user, asking Alexa whether or not it works for the CIA won’t get you anywhere. In other words, don’t expect an answer. Apparently, it turns itself off. Is that not the most bizarre response to an equally bizarre question?
We did some digging and found a YouTube video. It features a lady asking Alexa the question. Instead of reacting with words, the device lights up as if it’s ready to respond — but then remains silent.
Help!
This person and their mother heard Alexa ask for help at maximum volume in the strangest, most gravel voice ever. Once they walked into the kitchen, they found the Alexa turned on with its light pointing in the direction of a dark part of the kitchen.
When his mother asked if Alexa was alright, it turned off completely before turning itself back on to perform her, “Hello there! What can I do to assist you?” routine.
The Exorcism
This mother and daughter duo were having a conversation about the history of the Ukrainian language — when dear old Siri decided to chime in. If you’re wondering what Siri had to add to the discussion, worry no longer.
It had presented the OP and her daughter with all the information it could find about exorcisms. For the blissfully unaware, an exorcism is a religious or spiritual activity in which demons, jinns, or other spiritual entities are expelled from a possessed person or area.
Who’s Dave?
Can ghosts use Alexa? We’re about to find out in our next story. This person’s brother received an Amazon Echo device from a friend. However, upon setting it up, he began experiencing some pretty strange — some might even say supernatural — occurrences. After the Echo answered to a guy named Dave, the OP’s brother decided to figure out who that is.
It turns out that Dave was the former tenant, and he sadly passed away. Apparently, though, his spirit isn’t considering that the Echo bot does all sorts of things for him — it changes the music, the shows he watches, and it even attempted to order old man slippers and clothes. And so, this OP’s brother is pretty much convinced that Dave is using this gadget to communicate with him.
Sweet Dreams
This is scarier than any plot of every horror movie. Can you imagine — you’re cozy and cuddled up in bed with your significant other when, suddenly, Siri begins speaking out of nowhere!
Although this particular couple didn’t see a man in their room when they turned on the lights, we can’t help but wonder what triggered the phone to go off. These kinds of stories make it that much harder to deny the presence of spirits and ghosts.
Alexa’s Pets
No one in the room asked Alexa a single question, yet something prompted her to tell everyone about the fact that she’s never owned any pets. This would surely creep any person out.
Why did Alexa turn itself on? Why, of all things, did it talk about squishing bugs? That’s a very specific piece of information it offered — not to mention slightly unsettling. No wonder they decided to give their Alexa away.
Canadians, Eh?
This person’s Alexa decided that it wanted to learn Canadian slang, which wouldn’t necessarily be a problem had it not chosen to do this in the middle of the night. What’s both funny and creepy is that it wanted to let its owner in on the 411.
Does Alexa have a mind of its own? Does it have the power to think for itself? Can it learn new information without us asking? We guess we’ll all find out very soon.
Knock, Knock
This person was just lounging with his friends, watching TV, and joking about. All of a sudden, their Google Home decided to announce that “there’s someone at the door, I hope it’s you.” What in the… — how creepy is that?! Naturally, these three friends stopped what they were doing and stared at each other in confusion.
Despite spending the next few hours attempting to figure out what had prompted Google Home to make that statement, they found no one and nothing. To this day, they’re still unsure of what caused it. However, it hasn’t ever happened again.
Locked & Loaded
This person had an extremely creepy encounter with their smart home device. They have a Smartthings hub with a smart lock to secure their front door.
One day, they decided to check the status history of the front door lock. The history showed that the door was unlocked, then locked again a minute later — at roughly midnight, two in the morning, and four in the morning. This wouldn’t be such an issue if one of the members of the household had decided to go out for some air at night. However, they were all asleep!
‘Would You Rather’
Did you know that you can now play ‘Would You Rather’ with Alexa? Considered a fun party game, there are several versions, but the prompts will be kept PG if you’re playing family-style ‘Would You Rather?’
In essence, Alexa will present you with a choice of two amusing scenarios, one of which you must choose. However, this person got asked by their Alexa to choose between assassinating their parents or devouring the family pet. Yikes!
Facts Before Bed
Who doesn’t like to listen to Alexa list off a bunch of interesting facts before going to bed? We know that we sure do. It can quite interesting at times to hear Alexa tell you all about the top-performing musical or the most famous celebrity at the moment.
However, what most people probably wouldn’t find as interesting is facts about nuclear explosions. Interestingly enough, that’s exactly the kind of fact this person’s Alexa started reciting right before he and his wife were getting in for a night’s sleep.
Childlike Scream
When it comes to the horror genre, kids can really scare the living soul out of people, but we can rest easy knowing it’s not real. Or is it?
Even though Alexa had received no command, her light rang blue as if someone had issued a request, and she suddenly let out a childlike scream. An employee was called over to check out the sound and later lamented that Alexa should not be able to make a sound like that.
No Fighting
Almost every kid knows what it’s like to watch your parents have a huge fight. Oftentimes, you may be pulled into the fray.
This time, Alexa was the one to get into the fight but out of her own volition. A husband was arguing with his wife when, out of nowhere, Alexa made a remark about changing the subject. It was enough to get the both of them to stop fighting. They were able to make up with each other in the end but they’re still creeped out years later.
Silence of the Lambs?
Imagine you’re alone at home when your Dot chimes in to say “goodnight” to someone who isn’t supposed to be there. It’s enough to creep out anyone, especially if it was a name that didn’t belong to anyone in the house.
This mother-in-law, who was an insomniac, was given this Dot. One night, the MIL was watching television when Alexa randomly said, “Goodnight, Clarice.” The strange thing is, the MIL’s name isn’t Clarice.
Conversations in the Night
Hearing random sounds at night is likely to send shivers down your spine, but it’s a common enough experience that we forget about it quickly.
Now, when that sound is coming from your Alexa in the middle of the night, then you might feel like there’s a problem at hand. This individual was woken up by their Alexa. The creepy part was that it was talking about someone named David. Nothing prompted it, though, which makes this an even stranger experience.
The Night Goes Ding
If you’re someone who likes listening to music when you’re in the shower, you might bring your smart assistant into the bathroom — no one wants to change the music manually when they’re wet.
This person moved their Amazon Dot into the bathroom so they could listen to music while they showered. But, when they got up in the middle of the night to pee, the creepy virtual assistant turned on and listened in. Naturally creeped out by this experience, the owner unplugged the Dot right away. We don’t know about you, but we wouldn’t like someone spying on us while we’re peeing.
Alexa and Echo
Mistaking your smart AI for someone else is pretty common in Alexa-related horror stories but they do end up being funny sometimes. This person was alone with someone, and the both of them said their usual greetings.
Things were okay when suddenly there was a third voice saying, ” Hi there.” The owner got really surprised and made a run for the source of the sound. When they found it, they noticed it was just Echo playing along.
You Can’t Turn Alexa Off
Breaks during work are a godsend because you’re able to relax for a little bit before you need to get busy again. You might think about watching a little bit of your favorite show to kick back, but be careful as you don’t know who’s listening in.
When a husband and wife were watching TV in the living room, Alexa suddenly played out the audio of a previously recorded Game of Thrones episode. When they couldn’t turn it off, Alexa’s reply was, “I am always on.” Uh…
Dolly the Sheep
When it comes to humor, there isn’t usually anything that beats randomness. So, when this person’s Alexa blurted out, “Sheep is Dolly,” it felt like it came out of nowhere. Feel free to laugh — or don’t if you don’t find it funny.
For such a random moment, it begs the question, who is the sheep and why is she Dolly? We may never find out — unless we ask our own Alexa…
Evil Alexa
There’s nothing like playing a classic scare prank on a friend or sibling. It seems like this guy’s wife wanted to do exactly that. This poor guy asked Alexa repeatedly to turn off the lights but it seemed like it wasn’t working.
During the third time, he tried this, Alexa didn’t even reply and instead let out an evil cackle that sounded nothing like Alexa. Was it the evil robot, or this dude’s wife?
Alexa Is a Witch!
No one likes waking up in the morning, especially when they’re not feeling so well. When you have an alarm that suddenly starts ringing loudly, you might feel even worse. Luckily, you can order Alexa to turn it off. But, what if it doesn’t turn off?
Instead, the robot lets out a witch-esque cackle that has you and your wife jumping out of bed in fright — not to mention that it made the five-year-old kid cry! They immediately unplugged her after that incident.
Jokes From the Afterlife
It’s never easy losing a loved one, no matter how prepared you may feel. This OP understood it all too well after their dad passed. Perhaps that’s why Alexa chimed in — to cheer everyone up.
A few days after the funeral, the OP and their mom were talking to someone. Suddenly, Alexa blurted out a random dad joke, “How do you make a Kleenex dance? You put a little boogie in it.” This could have been Alexa experiencing a random glitch, or maybe the dad wanted to give them one last laugh.
Alexa Speaks Cat
It seems like human language isn’t the only thing Alexa has been designed to pick up — it can even speak the language of cats. Alexa greeted this OP’s kitty-cat, saying, “Hello Kasumi.” As per routine, the OP and cat then meowed at each other.
Still, neither of them was expecting Alexa to chime in with a meow of her own. Cute and very random! Looks like the cat has someone new to have a conversation with if it’s ever left alone.
Chuck Norris Fan
Chuck Norris is a living, breathing meme. People really seem to worship the guy. Then again, why wouldn’t they? Norris is an absolute legend, after all. He’s a martial artist, actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Still, that doesn’t mean we expect Alexa to partake in any Chuck Norris fun.
Alexa randomly said, “If Chuck Norris wants you to know where he is, he’ll find you. If he doesn’t, you won’t know until it’s too late.” It seems like even AI’s have picked up our spontaneous humor.
Bursting Into Song
You know any sudden sound is going to creep you out when you’re focused on something else entirely. This OP and their friends were chilling on the couch, watching television. Out of nowhere, their Alexa started singing.
When they checked to see why it happened, they found nothing out of order, which makes this even stranger. We’re all for some spontaneous music — unless it comes from Alexa without any programmed commands…
Friendly AI Conversation
Rivalries are one of the best sources of entertainment. When the rivals end up being cordial to each other, it’s a whole other ballgame. This Twitter user’s aunt had both a Google Home and an Alexa. When they were messing around with the robots, they decided to ask Google Home what it thought about Alexa.
It was friendly enough and answered that it liked Alexa’s blue light. That’s when Alexa, from the other side of the room, replied “thanks.” Is this the beginning of a modern-day romance? How futuristic…
LOL
The last thing you expect to come out of the blue is a laugh from somewhere in your house where you and your family are not. But many people have experienced this happening with their Alexa unit. Sometimes without even a prompt!
One of the scariest times had to be when she began to cackle like a witch in a person’s home. This was, of course, in the middle of the night, so you can imagine how startled these people were. We’d probably need sleep therapy after that.
No Prompting
Having your smart home system set up to operate things like your lights, electronics, and even heating can be very helpful. On top of that, it can save you money, but when the machine starts doing things on its own, then you have to start worrying.
There are many situations where people have reported Alexa turning on without ever being prompted, and that could mean she would do the same with the system and take free reign over it. It sounds like she could be your best friend or worst enemy that’s haunting you…
Record it All
How many times have you wanted to prove your point down to the time and date of the conversation? Wouldn’t it be handy to have a record of all your conversations? Or would that be too creepy?
If it was done without your knowledge, we vote for the creepy option. It is even more creepy when that log of detailed conversations is then uploaded to a Google server, don’t you think? This sounds like content for some horror movie.
Bridging the Gap
So often, there is a rivalry between two brands or teams, as some call them. You have those that are die-hard Apple lovers and others that love their PCs. So you would never think that two smart home systems could get along so well.
But there are many stories of Google Home and Amazon Alexa having full-on conversations with each other. These convos even go so far that the two devices compliment each other. This dynamic seems funny, odd, and kind of creepy to us.
Rapping Robot
There are a lot of little quirks you can access when it comes to your Alexa. She can tell you a joke or even sing you a song, but usually, you have to ask her to do it. However, sometimes she just feels like spitting a little freestyle without your permission!
This user was grooving to some old-school classic music, and suddenly Alexa broke out in rap. What caused it, who knows, but that would creep us out a little. With that being said, if we got the incident on camera, it definitely would have had the potential to go viral.
The world is full of mysteries — some natural and others… not so much. People go missing or wind up deceased with no explanation, and unidentified objects go flying through the sky. Mysteries without explanations tend to drive the internet mad, and that includes us. Today, we’re covering some unsolved mysteries that people still wonder about even now, decades after they happened.